Stephen Curry cards 71-86 in second Ellie Mae Classic appearance

HAYWARD, Calif. –  Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry carded a 16-over 86 Friday at the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae to finish his first two rounds at 17-over 157. Curry missed the cut in his second Web.com Tour appearance but bested his 18-hole scores from the previous year with his opening 1-over 71. Alex Prugh fired the low round of the day with a 10-under 60 to take the solo lead by two strokes at 16-under 124 heading into the weekend.

Trouble struck early for Curry, who made par on the first hole before picking up a bogey at the par-3 second. His struggle continued with back-to-back out-of-bounds tee shots on No. 3, which ultimately led to a quadruple-bogey for the 30-year-old.

“As always, it's an amazing opportunity,” Curry said after his round, “to be out here to test my game under the ultimate pressure, stressful situations. Today was interesting all the way around. I knew sort of what I had to shoot (to make the cut). I played the first two holes okay and then the wheels fell off on the third hole. 

“I couldn't hit a driver to save my life today, so that's how golf goes. One day you have it, or at least in the amateur world, one day you have it and one day you completely lose it and you have no idea what you're doing over the top of the ball.”

Despite making the turn with an 11-over 46 on the front nine, the two-time NBA champion refused to quit, fighting on the par-4 10th to pick up his first birdie of the round.

“It’s the same way I do on the court when I'm not making shots,” Curry commented when asked how he kept a level head on the course, “you just find something to focus on that you can do. For me, it was just trying to take each shot and just have fun with it and trying to hit a good shot and not really get too down about the result if it wasn't what I was expecting. The round kept my attention the whole way, I was trying to just grind …”

Curry picked up another birdie on No. 14 before ultimately ending the day at 16-over 86. While the father-of-three admitted to being frustrated with the results of his round Friday, he ultimately views the week as a testament to the level of play on the Web.com Tour and hopes that his play will shed light on golf’s next wave of stars.

“If that's what the conversation is out of this,” Curry said about skeptics who might view Friday’s round as a sign he shouldn’t have been competing, “I think you're missing the point of how hard it is to play on this Tour; how, as a professional, these guys are just so good … These guys can figure it out and that's why a guy like Cameron Champ, who really didn't have much going today, scrambled and found a way to make the cut, and Martin (Trainer) is working on stuff to come back next week in Portland and have a good round and good tournament and that's why he's got his (PGA) TOUR card (locked up already).

“For me particularly, I'm really proud of the first three rounds that I've had in this tournament, and I will have a short memory on this if I come back next year. But it's all about continuing to raise awareness for the guys out here on the Web.com Tour, the game of golf in general, and take advantage of that opportunity.”